On a large plateau made of beautiful marble in Kan-Celeste stood what remained of the Demon Garrison.

The Demon Garrison was an elite cavalry unit formed solely by demons, which naturally had a strong body with an enormous amount of potential yet weak Spirituality to protect the capital as both a policing force, and a military force. 

These select demons had a humanoid figure, yet were muscular and tall with beautiful faces and deep red skin which made it seem like they were bleeding from every orifice.

There were now only 1000 of the normally 50,000 demons remaining, all of which were proficient in Spirit and Elemental Magic, these demons were the crème de la crème of the professional army. They had both physical strength and spiritual aptitude, and were all individually selected to be part of the garrison.

They, along with the remaining professional Imperial Army of 100,000, which was made up of all the different races, stayed nearby the city to protect it when the city was teleported.

During the war, the garrison's job was usually to keep order within the city, and to summon undead to guard the entire city. 

Yet now, these 1000 men alongside their soul-bound Hellflames covered in armour stood at attention. Hellflames were large, beautiful black horses that had flames erupting from their feet and rainbow coloured manes and tails.

Their numbers seemed small on this large plateau that could easily hold 500,000 people, with extra space left behind.

All of the demons wore long bright crimson robes and goat horned helmets. They held out long white sabers in front of them that were filled with many different types of runes on the blade, all shining with a red hue.

At the front of the unit sat a Demon Lord in completely black armour and a long white spear atop his Hellflame, which was clearly larger and had brighter flames than the others.

Every single demon stood still, not moving a muscle in front of this Demon Lord and his imposing Hellflame.

Meanwhile, this man squinted in the direction of the castle with excitement. Seeing the large doors open, he dismounted, took off his helmet as he lowered his head and put his clenched hand to his heart. 

The demons behind him, seeing him dismount, all followed suit and mimicked him.

“We greet Your Highness Raulas!” The voices from all of the demons gathered into one and formed a single voice as it boomed throughout the entire city, and even caused ripples to appear in an area of the dome closest to them.

“At ease. Mogus, I’d like for you to take this man, Karlen with you. Let him translate for you and act as a guide. He seems to have military experience, so he won’t be dead weight. I still have some errands to do here unfortunately, but call me if you’re in trouble or when you’ve succeeded, I’ll come over instantly.” Raulas approached Mogus and introduced Karlen to him as he chatted. Mogus stayed silent as he inspected Karlen with a glare, looking him up and down.

“H..Hello Lord Mogus! I’m Karlen, please take care of me!” Karlen shook slightly as he bowed and greeted.

This was the first time he had seen a different race properly, and not just a different race, but a “demon”. Sure, he had seen the angels and beastmen, but he had only caught glimpses of them from far away. 

Standing in front of a man like Mogus, who naturally emitted an air of blood and savagery, and was also a demon, he got a great shock.

After a bit, Mogus retrieved his gaze and bowed to Raulas, “Yes! Jaharn, share your Hellflame with him.”

One of the closest soldiers grunted, sounding displeased, but beckoned Karlen over.

Smiling as he saw Karlen attempting and failing to get on the Hellflame, Raulas turned to Mogus, who was about to mount and spoke slowly.

“If you can.. Try to do this peacefully, show force, yes. But try not to attack unless it’s necessary. We need to be careful right now.” Raulas patted Mogus shoulder and turned around, heading back.

“Yes.” Mogus lightly tapped his foot and jumped onto the Hellflame. Whether it was for Raulas to return to the castle, or for Karlen to get on the Hellflame, he waited for a couple of minutes, staring at the deep azure sky above.

Turning his Hellflame, he faced his men.

“Mount.” Not shouting, not even raising his voice, he calmly ordered, and yet, in an instant, the demons sheathed their sabers and mounted their own Hellflames, instantly creating a brave and heroic image.

“This is not an extinction mission. This is merely a show of force. We need this new land, and we will get it. Try not to destroy much, and absolutely do not kill unless necessary. Jaharn, lead the expedition.” Mogus pointed in front of him.

“Demon Garrison, 1st New World Expedition. March!” He barked out for the first time in a loud voice.

The Hellflames began moving in a circle around the plateau, slowly at first, then picking up speed and slowly, yet at a constant rate, rose into the sky and began galloping towards the dome, and the direction of Fort Leus.